Cost analysis for CPT 87186 — Evaluation of antimicrobial drug (antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral), microdilution or agar dilution
Average Medicare Payment
$8.43
2023 data
Total Payments (2023)
$22.2M
Services (2023)
2.6M
Price Change (2014–2023)
-24.9%
| Year | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $11.22 | $32.3M | 2.8M | — |
| 2015 | $11.18 | $32.1M | 2.8M | -0.4% |
| 2016 | $11.19 | $32.4M | 2.9M | +0.1% |
| 2017 | $11.22 | $32.6M | 2.9M | +0.3% |
| 2018 | $10.40 | $30.1M | 2.9M | -7.3% |
| 2019 | $9.37 | $28.1M | 3.0M | -9.9% |
| 2020 | $8.55 | $21.7M | 2.5M | -8.8% |
| 2021 | $8.61 | $21.4M | 2.5M | +0.7% |
| 2022 | $8.49 | $21.5M | 2.5M | -1.4% |
| 2023 | $8.43 | $22.2M | 2.6M | -0.7% |
The most expensive state pays 1.0x more than the cheapest for this procedure. WV averages $8.48 vs DC at $8.26.
| State | Avg Payment | Total Payments | Services | Providers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WV | $8.48 | $2.1K | 252 | 3 |
| WY | $8.48 | $2.5K | 299 | 4 |
| MO | $8.48 | $114.7K | 13.5K | 8 |
| NH | $8.48 | $6.7K | 788 | 22 |
| NM | $8.48 | $40.6K | 4.8K | 5 |
| MA | $8.48 | $517.4K | 61.0K | 113 |
| SC | $8.48 | $163.6K | 19.3K | 5 |
| NV | $8.48 | $140.2K | 16.5K | 5 |
| KS | $8.48 | $478.8K | 56.5K | 11 |
| MD | $8.48 | $633.1K | 74.7K | 16 |
| NY | $8.47 | $808.3K | 95.4K | 317 |
| PA | $8.47 | $418.1K | 49.3K | 17 |
| TN | $8.47 | $297.2K | 35.1K | 71 |
| RI | $8.47 | $36.6K | 4.3K | 2 |
| CA | $8.47 | $2.0M | 237.2K | 47 |
| GA | $8.47 | $599.7K | 70.8K | 64 |
| IL | $8.47 | $811.5K | 95.8K | 38 |
| NJ | $8.47 | $2.2M | 264.6K | 264 |
| TX | $8.47 | $2.1M | 246.4K | 260 |
| NE | $8.47 | $54.7K | 6.5K | 2 |
| MS | $8.47 | $63.3K | 7.5K | 10 |
| DE | $8.47 | $38.0K | 4.5K | 3 |
| OK | $8.47 | $391.9K | 46.3K | 9 |
| CO | $8.47 | $244.1K | 28.8K | 11 |
| AZ | $8.47 | $707.4K | 83.5K | 87 |
| AR | $8.47 | $44.2K | 5.2K | 21 |
| MI | $8.47 | $88.3K | 10.4K | 30 |
| NC | $8.47 | $1.7M | 206.0K | 109 |
| LA | $8.47 | $138.7K | 16.4K | 39 |
| OH | $8.47 | $948.3K | 112.0K | 115 |
| KY | $8.47 | $210.9K | 24.9K | 54 |
| FL | $8.46 | $3.7M | 436.0K | 240 |
| SD | $8.46 | $45.5K | 5.4K | 23 |
| VA | $8.46 | $367.5K | 43.4K | 124 |
| IA | $8.46 | $91.7K | 10.8K | 89 |
| HI | $8.46 | $118.2K | 14.0K | 2 |
| AL | $8.46 | $626.4K | 74.1K | 61 |
| OR | $8.45 | $147.1K | 17.4K | 59 |
| PR | $8.45 | $7.5K | 886 | 20 |
| WA | $8.45 | $392.5K | 46.5K | 112 |
| IN | $8.45 | $130.0K | 15.4K | 54 |
| ME | $8.45 | $17.9K | 2.1K | 2 |
| UT | $8.45 | $70.2K | 8.3K | 79 |
| ND | $8.45 | $36.5K | 4.3K | 8 |
| ID | $8.44 | $20.9K | 2.5K | 18 |
| CT | $8.44 | $10.8K | 1.3K | 5 |
| MN | $8.44 | $117.6K | 13.9K | 142 |
| WI | $8.41 | $193.7K | 23.0K | 17 |
| DC | $8.26 | $1.6K | 197 | 2 |
| Provider | Specialty | State | Payments | Services | Avg/Service |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laboratory Corporation Of America Holdings | Clinical Laboratory | NC | $1.2M | 138.6K | $8.47 |
| Eccolab Group Co | Clinical Laboratory | FL | $944.6K | 111.5K | $8.47 |
| Laboratory Corporation Of America Holdings | Clinical Laboratory | NJ | $870.3K | 102.7K | $8.47 |
| Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories Inc | Clinical Laboratory | FL | $638.4K | 75.3K | $8.48 |
| Quest Diagnostics Incorporated | Clinical Laboratory | NJ | $544.0K | 64.2K | $8.48 |
| Unilab Corporation | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $530.2K | 62.5K | $8.48 |
| Laboratory Corporation Of America | Clinical Laboratory | CA | $494.8K | 58.4K | $8.48 |
| Laboratory Corporation Of America Holdings | Clinical Laboratory | AL | $490.7K | 58.0K | $8.46 |
| Laboratory Corporation Of America Holdings | Clinical Laboratory | OH | $483.7K | 57.2K | $8.46 |
| Clinical Pathology Laboratories, Inc. | Clinical Laboratory | TX | $399.6K | 47.1K | $8.48 |
| Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories Inc | Clinical Laboratory | GA | $379.8K | 44.8K | $8.48 |
| Laboratory Corporation Of America | Clinical Laboratory | TX | $368.4K | 43.6K | $8.46 |
| Labone Llc | Clinical Laboratory | KS | $350.9K | 41.4K | $8.48 |
| Bioreference Health, Llc | Clinical Laboratory | NJ | $350.6K | 41.4K | $8.47 |
| Sonora Quest Laboratories Llc | Clinical Laboratory | AZ | $331.3K | 39.2K | $8.46 |
| Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories Inc | Clinical Laboratory | TX | $319.6K | 37.7K | $8.48 |
| Northwell Health Laboratories | Clinical Laboratory | NY | $302.5K | 35.7K | $8.48 |
| Quest Diagnostics Llc Il | Clinical Laboratory | IL | $297.2K | 35.0K | $8.48 |
| Laboratory Corporation Of America | Clinical Laboratory | FL | $293.2K | 34.6K | $8.48 |
| Pathgroup Labs, Llc | Clinical Laboratory | NC | $292.7K | 34.6K | $8.46 |
Based on the data, CPT 87186 shows a 1.0x variation in pricing across states — relatively consistent by Medicare standards.
Costs have decreased 24.9% since 2014. Medicare's fee schedule attempts to standardize pricing, though some variation is expected due to geographic cost-of-living adjustments and practice expense differences.
This analysis is based on publicly available CMS data and does not account for patient complexity, comorbidities, or facility-specific factors that may justify pricing differences.
Note: All data is from publicly available Medicare records. OpenMedicare is an independent journalism project not affiliated with CMS.